To me that can be summed up as schools lacking creativity. And maybe too much of teachers aiming at the middle student, not all students. Maybe not effectively addressing the fact that all students are different and have different skills. Not all children “get” mathematics. And maybe some classes lack relevance these days.

To many children, school is not fun. Fun makes it interesting. Many children “tune out” in lessons because they think the subject, or indeed the presentation, is “boring”. We need to address this.

For some, research, writing, drama, dance and art are work. They are not. They are learning. They are nurturing and development of inner creativity.

I think that creativity is lacking in schools, however, there needs to be a balance. Creativity alone will not suffice. It is very important, but without “traditional” basic numeracy and literacy skills, creativity training and encouragement is worth little. Creativity deserves a place in the curriculum alongside the numeracy and literacy focus that exists today.

However schools do not stand alone in this. Parents and carers have a responsibility too. Schools tell children what to do, when to do it, and how to do it, but outside of schools, children have freedom to pursue their own interests. Parents play a big role in encouraging or discouraging their children’s creativity. They need to encourage these interests and creativity too. It’s the responsibility of both schools and parents to encourage creativity in the next generation of adults.

Some examples of issues I have noticed are labeling children who love to study/learn as nerds, schools giving students mere “gathering of facts” type of assignments that do not encourage them to think creatively and schools making subjects boring and tedious thus stamping out the love for self-research and learning.

I have seen cases where children used to draw, write creatively, make things, etc. Then, for example, their schooling led them into disliking writing because English class had made it into a chore. Many children do not read at school because it is considered nerdy.

This video presents an extremely important case for totally reforming the way we educate our kids. Watch it!

Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining case for creating a formal education system that nurtures (rather than stifles) creativity.

This struck a cord with me.

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think. And if you liked it, please share it with your followers.

To Your Growing Creativity

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Formal education starts early in life when we first attend primary school. These schools now are very different to when I was there. I believe primary schools are failing our children these days by failing to adequately teach them the basics. And due to the fact that the curriculum taught in the schools varies depending upon which state you live in. The number of young adults I meet in business who cannot spell or add up or even write a simple clear report is frightening!

The Federal Government here in Australia is trying to address this situation by having introduced a testing regimen that allows for the measurement and following of progress of each child through school on the basics by testing in years 3, 5, 7 and 9 of their schooling. This is a great idea because not only does it  help the child by providing him or her with a performance yardstick against their peers across the country, it also identifies where problems are in the education system, be they teaching issues, location issues, school facilities issues, environmental issues, social issues, or whatever, so action can be taken to address them and turn them around.

Once collected, the Government then posts summary results by school up on a website for all to see. This enlightens and involves the users of the education system in the decision making in regard to addressing any issues. But we have people who just do not get it. And of greatest concern is that some of those are within the education system itself. For example, a local Teachers Federation it seems does not disagree with the merit of this testing regimen, nor it seems does it disagree with how it is done, however it criticises the publishing of the results and grading of schools because it argues that doing so will force schools to teach the basics at the expense of art, drama, etc, to achieve good results for the website. I contend that our future artists and actors will be no good to themselves or society if they cannot add, spell and express themselves properly verbally and in writing.

The basics are so important. And yes, in my opinion more important than an extra hour of art or drama in the school week. A quality primary school education in the basics is fundamental and sets up a person for life. Then the formal secondary education that follows builds on that firm foundation of basics.

Evidence suggests that tertiary education is not so important. There are thousands of extremely successful people in our world that do not have degrees. Self education on top of the great formal basic education has held them in good stead.

Obviously if your desire is to become some sort of professional like a doctor, accountant, or nuclear physicist, then you need to go and obtain a formal higher education. However know that you will gain a lot of useless and irrelevant knowledge as well in the classroom during those years. Further, your formal education is just part of what you will need to be successful. When you finally get a job, you figure out that the knowledge you really need is learned on the job through taking action. You learn much more on the job than you ever learn in the formal higher education classroom, where you are supposed to be thoroughly prepared for that job.

However, that is sizable subject and one for another post.

What is your experience with the formal education system?  Leave me a comment below.  And if you found this post of value, please pass it on to your followers on Facebook or retweet it to your Twitter followers.

To Your Self Education.

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I will spare you the graphic details, however, the inspiration for this post is inadequate storm water management by the local Municipal Council and the damage that storm water drain overflows cause to our property.

We have lived here for over five years, however the major incidents began a bit over two years ago. Coincidently, that is around the time that Council performed significant stormwater capture and drainage works further up the valley. Hmmm!

I exchanged correspondence regarding these serious issues with the Council over the period of a few months at that time and obtained some undertakings from it for remedial action to be performed with a low priority, due to the low frequency of flood events.

In the two years since, we have been flooded on four more occasions, two of them within a week recently. And absolutely no action during this two year period has been forthcoming from Council. It seems I was told what I wanted to hear and that Council never intended to take any action at all.   

The two recent incidents woke me up to the facts that I had been waiting for Council to act, instead of keeping the pressure on for it to act. I had been too trusting and too patient. I had failed to effectively follow up. I had forgotten the old adage – “the squeaky wheel gets the grease”.  

When it comes to my business, there are several lessons I learned from the whole ordeal. The first lesson is that when roadblocks occur in our businesses, and indeed in our lives, we need to find a way to push them out of the way and make it happen. We must not take our eye off the ball.    

However, there is one that most pertains to my business. And it pertains to yours as well. Delegation is the biggie here. I had effectively delegated the resolution task and responsibility to Council. I had let go of a “delegated task”. Remember, you can delegate the task, but you cannot delegate the responsibility. That remains with you as business owner for completion of the task in a timely manner.

I did indeed follow up recently, a number of times, and when I pressed Council for performance, I received a letter back from the Mayor basically dismissing my requests for action due to budgetary constraints. If I had followed through effectively at the beginning, two years ago, I would have received that resolution two years ago and had the opportunity then to react accordingly.   

So, when you hit a roadblock in your business, crash through it, get it resolved in a timely manner. Don’t delegate the responsibility. Don’t wait for it to happen. Make it happen.  

Are you asking all the right questions when it comes to resolving roadblocks in your business?

Are you asking them often enough to keep the pressure on for a response or resolution?

Are you delegating the responsibility for tasks along with the task?

Leave me a comment below and let me know. And if you think others will obtain value from this, please pass it on by re tweeting or sending it over to Facebook.

To Your Outrageous Success

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I know this will be helpful to you.

Where Are Your Habits Leading You?

You are an accumulation of your habits. From how you get out of bed to how you shower; how you dress; how you walk, sit and talk; how you respond to the world; how you act in front of others; and how you think, you are living out your habits. Habits are necessary. They free up your mind so that you can concentrate on how to survive every day. You don’t have to think about how to drive your car so you can be on the lookout for danger while you are driving. You don’t have to think about how to walk so you can concentrate on where you are going.

Unfortunately, habits can also keep you locked in self-destructive patterns, which will limit your success. To become successful, you will need to drop bad habits and develop new ones that are in line with the life you want to live. People do not suddenly appear in the life they want to live—habits determine their outcome! What are the habits you have that are keeping you from achieving your goals? Are you always running late? Do you return phone calls within 24 hours? Do you get enough sleep? Do you speak clearly and look people directly in their eyes? Do you eat healthy meals? Ask others what they observe about you and make a list of all the behaviors that keep you from success.

Imagine what your life would be like if all those habits were their productive counterparts. What would your life be like if you ate healthy meals, exercised and got enough sleep? What would your life be like if you saved money, stopped using credit cards and paid cash for everything? What would your life be like if you stopped procrastinating, overcame your fears and began networking with people in your field? Write down the more productive habits and visualize your life as it would be if they were your habits right now.

Decide to develop four of your new habits each year, one for each quarter. Create a method that will support your new habit. What will keep you motivated? How will you remind yourself of your new habit? You could write it down on a card that you keep with you and read over several times a day. You could make it a part of your daily visualization. You could enlist the help of an accountability partner who also has habits to change. Be specific about the steps that you are willing to take in order to drop an old habit and adopt a new one. Do not be vague about how you will change your habits. Spell it out for yourself so that you can recognize situations that call for you to act out your new habit.

Once you have picked your habit for that quarter, make a 100 percent commitment to stick to it. Do not tempt yourself by making it optional every time a situation arises. If your new habit is to go to bed by 10 p.m., then go to bed at 10 p.m., even if you are not feeling tired. Just go there and relax, read a book, visualize or meditate, but don’t compromise on your new habit. If you make an exception once, you are more likely to make an exception the next time, and soon you will be back to your old habits.

Even four new habits a year will dramatically shift your life to be more in line with your vision. And the more in line it becomes, the easier the other habits are to replace because your perspective is shifting and you see more clearly how your old habits are not serving you anymore. You can do it!

I trust you obtained some insights from Mr. Canfield’s piece.

To Your Unstoppable Success

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One big feature is the ability to split your friends of contacts into four separate groups and then to be able to post to all of the groups, or any of them only. There is also a blogging capability.

You can also manage all your social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, MySpace, LinkedIn, CNN and many more) from within Your Night.

A quick summary
• Launched in Nov 2009 and is on track to grow to 10 million members by the end of 2010 and 50 million members by the end of 2011
• Social Media is growing one million times faster than any other MLM or network marketing business out there.
• You can register free with Your Night, and stay a free member forever, however you can upgrade to GOLD Member status, ($10 per month), to take advantage of the incredible earning potential.
• Your Night allows you to tailor individual privacy settings for all 5 profiles (Friends, Family, Professional, Dating and Blogging) so you can separate your private life from your business life
• Your Night is the only social media site that shares 55% of their profits with their member base and 5% goes to children’s charities.
• Even more exciting, Your Night is launching a unique and innovative online shopping mall. You can save up to 20% with over 1000 leading retailers within the Your Night website. (Launching late May 2010)
• Timing and Opportunity are the key with anything. This is the right time for Your Night and definitely the opportunity of the decade!

I suggest you Register FREE Today and check it out!!  Click below

To Your Increasing Success

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I trust you get something out of this.

8 Tips To Get More Cash

The best way to add to your income on a consistent basis is to create a “21st Century Lemonade Stand!”

The reason I’m calling it that is because if you think back when you were a kid and you created your own little business, like a lemonade stand, you did so without a lot of money or planning, and around your school and activity schedule.

That’s how simple it should be!

As an adult, we tend to complicate things so much that it keeps us from taking action and implementing ideas. Now it’s a small part-time business, or as I call it, a cash machine. It’s something you basically “turn on” and start making money with.

Here are 8 tips to get started putting more cash in your pocket fast…

Turn What You Know Into Dough!
Make a list of all your talents, skills, hobbies, interests, knowledge and experience. Out of that list, brainstorm ideas for your small part-time business. Don’t try to create your cash machine doing something you haven’t done before or don’t know much about. The point is you want to get on your fastest path to cash.

Don’t try to reinvent the wheel!
Study what others are doing and ask yourself what works – and perhaps more importantly what doesn’t. Do your research. Someone out there is already doing what you want to do (or close) so learn from their mistakes and expand on their success!

Keep it simple!
You don’t want to over complicate things. People like simplicity and tend to tune out when things get complicated or busy.

Remember what makes you unique!

Focus on what makes you unique. What sets you apart? This is what your future customers want. Are you more convenient, innovative, personalized, or all the above?

You need to know what you’re talking about!
Develop a short 30 second “pitch” for your brand. You never know when the opportunity will strike and you’ll have a chance to gain a contact, or better yet, a customer! Be ready with something to say at a moment’s notice and use it. Don’t be shy. You’re an expert! You are your brand and it will become a big part of your marketing strategy.

Package your offers wisely!
Oftentimes people buy something because of the way it is packaged. This goes for both products and services. If you have a product that’s similar to others, your packaging could make or break the sale. Do your research; ask for input from those around you. With services, you want to bundle different offers together and give choices, but not too many. If it makes sense to your prospects to take you up on several services they will do it.

Your brand is your businesses personality!
Think about how you want others to perceive you. What do you want them to think of when they see your name? Do you want them to think of value, convenience, and efficiency? And remember it’s ok to be fun and quirky but it’s a fine line, so be careful. You want the focus on your service or product.

Trust your instincts and ask yourself if this is your fastest path to cash!

Ready GO!

Did anything resonate with you? Let me know what you think by leaving a comment below and if you thought this to be valuable, please pass it on through Twitter or Facebook.

To Your Continued Success

I know this will be helpful to you.

The First Step Is The Hardest  

Obstacles are a part of life. There’s just no avoiding disappointment, pitfalls, and the dreaded lack of motivation. What do you do when you are faced with a difficult obstacle?

Henry Ford once said, “Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.” Does this hit home for you?

Your personal and professional success is hinged on your ability to map out a solid plan and your ability to overcome obstacles. In my many years of mentoring entrepreneurs at every stage of wealth building, I’ve noticed most of obstacles are mostly ones people put in front of themselves.

Getting started with a business plan can be very exciting. The initial planning and research is the fun part. For most (would be) entrepreneurs the hardest part or the biggest obstacle is the first step. Getting out there and putting the plan into action can be intimidating. Not only to do you have to put yourself out there personally but you’ve got to put your money and/or your time on the line as well.

I’ve seen great ideas sit on the shelf for years because people find it hard to actually put it to action. The lack of action itself becomes an obstacle and it’s a difficult one to see around.

So how do you overcome these obstacles?

Here’s what you can do…

If you’re in the beginning stages of creating a side business you need to formulate a solid plan with a realistic timeline. As you create your plan include daily action steps. My suggestion is to start small and build from there. Devote specific times and dates to your new endeavor and stick to it.

Create a task list and every time you accomplish the job, cross it off your list. Your sense of accomplishment will spill over into every part of your life. Before you know it even the most daunting task will be done with more confidence and ease.

When you hit an obstacle try not to think of it as a pitfall. Think of them as bends in the road and an opportunity to learn. This is the perfect time to find out what works and what doesn’t. Flip it around — make it a positive.

Challenges are your chance to make adjustments and improvements to your plan. The key here is to have a road map to remind you of the ultimate goal. If an obstacle bumps you off track, be sure to shift, adjust and get back on course.

When I face a challenge I take it on full speed ahead. Even the best of the best of us can get discouraged at times; it’s up to you whether or not you allow it to interfere with your vision. Be in a cycle of continuous learning. Get inspired by others that are reaching for their dreams. Don’t stand in your own way. Get out there and make it happen!

Ready. GO!

Are you inspired? Let me know what you think by leaving a comment below.

To Your Unstoppable Success

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Get ready to be challenged

Do You Have What It Takes?

Are you the type of person that has what it takes to be your own boss? If you’ve been thinking about creating a Cash Machine (small business) either full or part time you’d be well advised to make sure you’ve got what it takes before taking the leap. Some people are just not cut out for self employment while others were born with an entrepreneurial spirit. Where do you fit in? Do you have what it takes?

Entrepreneurs possess unique qualities. They are a resilient people that understand that at times you’ve got to run with a great idea and other times you’ve got to move on from a bad one. If you have the ability to shift and adjust your way of thinking, fine tune your plans and alter action steps for bumps and curves in the road ahead you’re on the right track.

Entrepreneurs have the gift of common sense. You might think this is obvious but just think about how many people in your daily life walk around blindly with no common sense? You know who they are.

Common sense is defined as the ability to make sound judgment independent of specialized knowledge or training with normal native intelligence. If that doesn’t define an entrepreneur I don’t know what does.

If you’re a creative person with resilience and common sense you have a triple advantage. Add the ability to lead and a “get out there and do it” attitude and there’s just no stopping you.
You’ve got what it takes so what’s holding you back?

For most people what holds them back is easy to overcome. Self esteem. This is a big one but all it takes is some creativity and common sense to get over that hump. The cards are stacked in your favor so take the plunge. The water is great! The self esteem will come as you start seeing results.

If you’re the type of person that sits around waiting for something to happen guess what… it will never happen. Successful people make things happen. They understand that action equals results.

Entrepreneurialism is not rocket science; you don’t have to make things complicated. In fact the simplest ideas are some of the best ones. You don’t have to come up with the next best thing or something new under the sun.

Entrepreneurs are often good marketers and self promoters. If you can talk to people and convey a message you’re way ahead of the game. Get out there and start playing.

Entrepreneurs are doers. They understand action is the only way to success. Even if you don’t possess all of the general characteristics of an entrepreneur I’m sure you have at least one. Build from there. If you’re lacking in the self confidence department, take some action to change that. If you lack resilience, get inspired by others who’ve faced adversity and achieved their dreams.

Entrepreneurialism isn’t a private club. You don’t need a membership. All you need is a deep seeded desire to make real change in your life.

Are you ready? Are you willing to shift and adjust your thinking for true success?

Ready GO!

Are you inspired? Let me know what you think by leaving a comment below.

To Your Unstoppable Success

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No matter what our kids and the new generation think about us,

WE ARE AWESOME !!!!

OUR LIFE IS LIVING PROOF !!!!

To Those of  Us  Born  1930 – 1979

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE 1930′s, 40′s, 50′s, 60′s and 70′s!!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can and didn’t get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-base paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had baseball caps not helmets on our heads.

As infants and children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes.

Riding in the back of a pick- up truck on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle..

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and no one actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes made with Lard, white bread, real butter and bacon. We drank FLAV- OR- AID made with real white sugar. And, we weren’t overweight.   WHY?

Because we were always outside playing….that’s why!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day. And, we were OKAY.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride them down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Play stations, Nintendo’s and X-boxes. There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD’s, no surround-sound or CD’s, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet and no chat rooms.

WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

We would get spankings with wooden spoons, switches, ping pong paddles, or just a bare hand and no one would call child services to report abuse.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend’s house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them.

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team.

Those who didn’t had to learn to deal with disappointment.  Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of.. They actually sided with the law!

These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever.

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. What can kids today do besides push buttons?

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.

If YOU are one of them, CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good.

While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave and lucky their parents were.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn’t it ?

Thought provoking? Let me know what you think by leaving a comment below.

Yours in awesomeness

So what is a “tribe”?

Seth Godin, in his best selling book, “Tribes. We Need You To Lead Us”, defines a tribe as “any group of people, large or small, who are connected to one another, a leader, and an idea”.

He says that “for millions of years, humans have joined tribes, be they religious, ethnic, political or even musical. It is our nature”.

This shows we all have within us a need to connect with other people who share common interests in certain areas with us. We need to share and discuss our views with these groups of people, and them with us. And when we do, that makes us a part of a “tribe” on that subject or activity. (And the “mastermind” effect comes in here too!). So in reality we all belong to a number of tribes. For example, your church, the golf club, the football club, the knitting club, the underwater basket weaving club, etc, etc… and network marketers. These are all tribes. They all have a leader, an idea, and the members are all connected to one another.

So, when you think about it, there have been “tribes” in existence everywhere in today’s society for ages, including in our business world. We just have not thought about these “interest groups” in those terms. With the current GFC, maybe the importance of the existence of these “tribes” and the understanding of how they work and what they can achieve has been heightened. And this applies now more than ever to online business.

Seth Godin says “the internet has eliminated the barriers of geography, cost and time. All those blogs and social networking sites are helping existing tribes get bigger and enabling new tribes to be born.” All you need is a shared interest and a way to communicate.

We already know that success in an online business today depends on whether or not you genuinely relate to your customers, with value. And spreading your content through a number of avenues from a number of sources simultaneously, widens the exposure of your content. This is the real power of a “tribe”, as it relates to online business.

So what do the tribe members do? How does it work? What delivers the power? How do I build a tribe?

Basically, the tribe members retweet the other members content, they comment on other tribe member’s blog posts, comment on and rate youtube videos, post new content based on other tribe members content on their Facebook walls, etc. In essence, tribe members syndicate other tribe member’s best content out on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, social bookmarking sites such as StumbleUpon and Digg, and place comments on great posts on tribe member’s blogs.

I could spend some more time here answering these questions and explaining further. However there is a recent post by a tribe heavy weight “chief”, Kary Rogney that lays it all out extremely well.

It can be seen here
http://bit.ly/8R3bb8

Kary Rogney is a member of a highly successful tribe and he has a My Tribe page on his blog which provides a lot more information on the operation of a tribe and it includes some videos which provide some great training.

It can be seen here
http://bit.ly/seUIh

Well, I hope this post was enlightening. If you consider this information to be of value, please pass it on by re tweeting or sending it over to Facebook. Also please let me know what you think by leaving a comment below.

To Tribin’

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